Usa Volleyball

Newport Harbor High product Misty May-Treanor and Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb have been named USA Volleyball Female and Male Athlete of the Year, respectively, in beach volleyball. May-Treanor, 35, and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings won their third straight Olympic gold medal in London last summer. The legendary duo lost only one set and swept to a 21-16, 21-16 final victory over April Ross and Jennifer Kessy. May-Treanor led Olympic women's players in digs with 107 on 225 attempts for a 48% success rate.

UC Irvine women?s volleyball player Kari Pestolesi and Anteater alumna Keegan Featherstone will represent the United States in beach volleyball at the 2008 World University Championships, July 2-7 in Hamburg, Germany. Pestolesi, the 2007 West Region AVCA Division I West Region Freshman of the Year, will partner with UC Santa Barbara?s Olivia Waldowski as one of beach volleyball duos with Featherstone and partner Lauren Fendrick forming the second pair. Featherstone played for UCI from 2002 to 2005.

Two locals were nominated to be named as U.S. Olympic Committee athletes and coaches of the year. USA Volleyball honored former Newport Harbor High standout Misty May-May Treanor and UC Irvine men’s coach John Speraw. May-Treanor, 30, was named the women’s beach volleyball player of the year. She and her teammate Kerri Walsh, 29, were named the beach volleyball team of the year. After dominating the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals tour and Fédération International de Volleyball competition last season, May-Treanor was named the FIVB best defensive player, best offensive player, and sportsperson of the year for 2007.

April Ross, a Costa Mesa resident and former Newport Harbor High volleyball standout, has been named 2013 Female Beach Athlete of the Year by USA Volleyball. Ross, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist who played with three partners, played in nine domestic and 13 international tournaments in 2013, earning six titles and several other top-three finishes. In seven Assn. of Volleyball Professionals events, she won three times, twice with longtime partner Jennifer Kessy (Salt Lake City, and Atlantic City)

Corona del Mar High product Jeff Carlson and Will Montgomery, who redshirted as a freshman with the UC Irvine men’s volleyball team last season, have been named to the national beach training team by USA Volleyball. Carlson, a 6-foot-3 setter, collected 25 assists in three matches for USC in 2009, helping the Trojans reach the NCAA title match, where they fell to UCI. Carlson and Montgomery have begun training for the Junior World Championships (for players ages 21 and under)

Tony Altobelli For those who went to school with him, the Olympics was probably the last place anyone would spot Newport Coast's Jeff Ruffolo. "I was a major skinny wimp growing up," the 42-year-old admitted. "Athletics and Olympics were not something I ever thought I would be a part of as an adult, but I am and I'm loving it." Ruffolo has been hired by Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports America as an on-air announcer for the upcoming 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games.

IRVINE ? Sean Grubbs, a Newport Harbor High product, will play for the national championship along with the Pepperdine men?s volleyball team, which goes up against top-seeded Penn State. today at 4 p.m. at UC Irvine?s Bren Events Center. Pepperdine (17-10), the No. 2 seed, advanced to the final after dispatching Long Beach State, 30-26, 30-21, 30-26, Thursday. Penn State (29-1) defeated Ohio State, 30-21, 26-30, 30-22, 30-17. Before the national championship match, there will be ?

Jeff Carlson, a recent Corona del Mar High graduate, has been selected to compete at the Federation Internationale de Volleyball 2008 Youth World Championships for beach volleyball July 30-Aug. 3 in Hague, Netherlands, USA Volleyball recently announced. Carlson, who will play for USC next year, will be teamed up with Tony Ciarelli of Huntington Beach. Carlson led the Sea Kings with 289 kills, and had 171 digs, 50 aces and 22 blocks in his senior season as an outside hitter for the Sea Kings, earning first-team All-CIF Southern Section Division II honors.

UC Irvine men's volleyball All-American Jimmy Pelzel is among 24 players invited by USA Volleyball to try out for the 2003 World University Games. The players begin training June 27 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Once a team of 12 players and alternates is selected, it will compete in the Japan-USA Men's Challenge Cup, a series of six matches in Japan from July 26 through Aug. 3. The team will then return to Colorado Springs to begin final preparations for the World University Games, scheduled Aug. 21-31 in Daegu, Korea.

Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb was named Male Beach Athlete of the Year by USA Volleyball on Wednesday after a remarkable season that saw him win six tournaments, finish second twice and third four times. Gibb, 37, a two-time Olympian, played his first season with partner Casey Patterson, a former BYU setter who resides in Huntington Beach. The duo won four straight Assn. of Volleyball Professionals events and finished third at the other three AVP events. They won the Federation International de Volleyball event in Shanghei, China and were second at another international tournament in Argentina, and the FIVB World Cup in Brazil.

April Ross, a Costa Mesa resident and former Newport Harbor High volleyball standout, has been named 2013 Female Beach Athlete of the Year by USA Volleyball. Ross, a 2012 Olympic silver medalist who played with three partners, played in nine domestic and 13 international tournaments in 2013, earning six titles and several other top-three finishes. In seven Assn. of Volleyball Professionals events, she won three times, twice with longtime partner Jennifer Kessy (Salt Lake City, and Atlantic City)

Armen Zakarian has joined the UC Irvine men's volleyball staff as an assistant coach. "In Armen's words, he 'is coming to UC Irvine to build something.' That is a bold statement considering the recent competitive successes of the program," UCI head coach David Kniffin said in a press release. "That vision, passion and resistance to settling for 'good enough' is a cornerstone of our culture and I am grateful to have him join us as we forge ahead. " Zakarian comes to UCI after serving three seasons as the men's volleyball head coach at Santa Barbara City College.

It took Michael Brinkley all of 16 months to achieve the most lofty team and individual goals to which a college men's volleyball player can aspire. Luckily for the UC Irvine sophomore libero, there is still this pesky perfection to pursue. "I wanted to win a national championship and I wanted to be first-team All-American," said the mop-topped 5-foot-10 floor leader whose value to the 23-7 Anteaters goes well beyond his defensive dominance. Brinkley crossed off the first of his gargantuan goals last season, when he helped UCI claim its third NCAA title in six seasons.

The Bird. Turtle. The Backstroke King. They are known as three of Newport Harbor High's greatest athletes. Newport Harbor's "Big Three" can also be known as among the best in CIF Southern Section history. George Yardley (basketball), Misty May-Treanor (volleyball) and Aaron Peirsol (swimming) are featured in the CIF Southern Section's "100 Athletes for 100 years," and represent the inaugural CIF Southern Section Athletes Hall of Fame, it was announced Monday. Each of the Sailors' athletes hold a special place in Newport Harbor's Long Gray Line, and went on to reach stardom in the NBA for Yardley, and with Olympic gold for May-Treanor and Peirsol.

Newport Harbor High product Misty May-Treanor and Costa Mesa resident Jake Gibb have been named USA Volleyball Female and Male Athlete of the Year, respectively, in beach volleyball. May-Treanor, 35, and partner Kerri Walsh Jennings won their third straight Olympic gold medal in London last summer. The legendary duo lost only one set and swept to a 21-16, 21-16 final victory over April Ross and Jennifer Kessy. May-Treanor led Olympic women's players in digs with 107 on 225 attempts for a 48% success rate.

There comes a point with former athletes when the legacy they created during their playing career virtually trumps any resume they may have developed after that career has ended. Karch Kiraly, the Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan and/or Wayne Gretzky of men's volleyball, is such a figure. Kiraly, whose relatively modest coaching experience has been limited to an assistant's role, which he currently holds with the U.S. women's national team, does not rival some of the sideline accomplishments presented by others pursuing the UC Irvine men's volleyball coaching vacancy that was created when John Speraw left for UCLA.

UC Irvine junior opposite Carson Clark was named to the 14-man USA Volleyball roster that will compete at the FIVB Men's World Volleyball Championships that begin Saturday and continue through Oct. 10 in Italy. Team USA will play exhibition matches against Italian club volleyball teams before beginning competition on Saturday against Mexico in Reggio Calabria. On Sept. 26, they will play Venezuela at noon PT and on Sept. 27, the will play Argentina at noon PT. Their results in the first round will determine where the team goes next.

Some high quality volleyball is coming to UC Irvine this month. USA Volleyball will play host to the 2010 Men’s World Championship Qualification Tournament for NORCECA Pool F Aug. 15-17 at the Bren Events Center on the UCI campus. Pool F consists of the United States, Panama, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Teams are competing to qualify for the 2010 World Championship which will be held Sept. 24-Oct. 10, 2010, in Italy. The World Championship qualifying process began around the world last December with Puerto Rico already qualifying.